now tell me the truth...how much does it HURT? :(

[Runcible Spoon]

I have an early morning appointment tomorrow to get my wisdom teeth out...will I survive??!! :scared::scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[Deja Q]

1. It helps if they put you under before they do the surgery.

:D

[Kajsa]

3. Ditto on HT's advice.

If you have enough anesthesia,
you should be OK.

Good luck, tomorrow.
It'll be over before you know it.:D

[Runcible Spoon]

5. let's hope so...

I'm getting all 4 out so I hope I get the good drugs.

[sendero]

2. You'll live..

.... but for a time you'll WISH you were dead :)

I'm pulling your leg - I still have my wisdom teeth. From anecdotal info I have, I'd say you have a 50% chance of it being uncomfortable, and 50% of it being pretty bad.

[Runcible Spoon]

6. oh no!

:scared: I'm just hoping they dope me up sufficiently!

[sendero]

12. Seriously..

...it's not the procedure - it's the next couple of days. But you should get a nice script for some Vicodins, and that will help a lot :)

[CottonBear]

4. It's not so bad.

Have someone there to drive you home. Be prepared to feel uncomfortable for a few days. Have some straws and soft, cool foods. You'll survive. :hug:

[Runcible Spoon]

8. aww thanks!

although a canter won't be in the cards for how long do you think? :evilgrin: gonna miss my horsie!

[CottonBear]

29. Oh! You're a dressage lady! You'll miss your horsie for about 5 days

at the most. Do you have to muck stalls and feed and water the horsie during recovery? Maybe you'll have some help. What kind of horse do you ride? I have an Oldenburg filly who is just three so I can't ride her yet. I just pay for her upkeep and feed her and groom her and train her and love her!

My filly had her wolf teeth removed last year. I kept them in a cup in the freezer. I paid enough to have them removed so I thought that I'd save them.

I hope you'll be OK. :)

[miss_american_pie]

7. It's really not that bad

Did they give you a sedative to take ahead of time?

[Runcible Spoon]

9. wow you can get a sedative?

no :evilfrown: I didn't get anything like that. They must think I'm a commie pinko bastard who doesn't deserve them

[miss_american_pie]

15. Or mine were just really bad

Whatever they gave me, I was out ten minutes into the trip there. And then more of it in the iv. I don't remember most of that day.

Recovery wasn't awful. More inconvenient than painful.

[Runcible Spoon]

18. I always have a problem getting good enough painkillers.

When I had a severe ear infection they only gave me very weak codeine and the acetominophen wreaked havoc on my stomach. I need to learn more coercive ways to get what I need...our culture is so damn puritanical!

[miss_american_pie]

21. I think I had tylenol 3 after

But yeah, after my second kid was born (a ten+ pounder) they gave me ibuprofen. After the first kid (a smaller ten pounder) I had percocet.

:shrug:

[smokey nj]

10. Is it impacted?....

I had one pulled a few years ago that wasn't impacted, it wasn't too bad. After the novacaine wore off, I just took the painkillers that were prescribed. Just follow the instructions for rinsing and changing the gauze, because you don't want to get dry socket.

[Runcible Spoon]

13. no, but I have what they call "complex root structure"

with like twisty roots. I had one root canal and the damn root structure had the dentist cursing my tooth and me writhing in pain. I'm gunshy these days

[smokey nj]

22. Will they put you completely out?.....

My husband had a complicated extraction last year and he was pretty much put under general anesthetic.

[Runcible Spoon]

24. I think yes, since they told me not to eat and I need a driver...

I'm just worried about the costs, too since I have no dental insurance,,,grrrrrrrrrr

[BlueIris]

11. Insist on the strongest painkiller you can get, and DON'T let them

give you generic drugs. Generic painkillers are pathetically ineffective and definitely won't save you any money (there's so little narcotic in them that you have to take at least double the prescribing dose to get any relief). Make sure you get the pain management issue cleared up before the surgery, including making sure the DMD writes "Do not substitute" on the actual prescription slip. Then take the painkillers before the anesthetic from the surgery wears off. Also--I realize they're damn annoying, but don't neglect to put the ice packs on your jaws afterward. 90+% of the post-operative pain is caused from swelling around the sutures, and (usually) not the incisions or the remaining holes where the teeth were extracted. I was up and around again the next day.

[Runcible Spoon]

14. I didn't realize that RE: generics/

what kinds of stuff should I be after?

[BlueIris]

23. Well, you should go with whatever has worked for you in the past...

The only painkiller I can use is Percocet--Vicodin and all of its generic varieties make me puke my guts out because of my codeine allergy. Many people like to prescribe Vicodin (a schedule III narcotic) after even surgery because it is allegedly less habit-forming than Percocet (a schedule II drug). Which is crap. Docs prescribe Vicodin across the board to decrease their own liability unless you specifically request otherwise, (which you should) and that strategy doesn't protect them worth a goddamn if they unknowingly have given Vicodin to someone whose brain happens to be uniquely wired to get hooked on that.

Unless you know yourself to be allergic to oxycodone, I'd ask for Percocet. And then politely remind the DMD (or whoever is writing the prescription) to write "do not substitute" on the script so you don't get screwed at the pharmacy. That's P-E-R-C-O-C-E-T, by the way--don't let them fob off Endocet on you and claim it's the same thing (it isn't). This is not "drug seeking," you are not being "pushy" or "unreasonable," when you request a certain drug. Having your wisdom teeth out can be very painful (especially if there are complications) and it's valid for you to not want to be in pain afterward. It's also valid for you to call your DMD for either a change in prescription if the Percocet doesn't work out, (and you need something with hydrocodone instead--different narcotic that works on the brain in a different way) or if you need a second prescription. Around here, even though a lot of docs are pretty stingy with the pain meds, the standard prescription size after wisdom tooth removal is 20 20 mg tablets of your prefered painkiller, with the occasional refil for people with a low pain threshold. Don't settle for less, or you could be very sorry.

[Runcible Spoon]

25. thanks, BlueIris.

do you offhand know the price difference? I am paying out of pocket but your advice RE: having to take more of the cheaper stuff is well taken....

[BlueIris]

27. Around here (Western OR) an Rx for Percocet is around $20.00.

Which is...entirely worth it, trust me on this.

Also, let's just say that (God forbid) you get into trouble after the surgery and need to switch prescriptions and your DMD or his/her staff blows you off: you can always call your PCP and explain what happened, that you are not being medicated effectively for pain, etc., and ask them to prescribe for you. It's not uncommon for family physicians to have to clean up the messes DMDs and DDSs make with their patients, especially where pain management matters are concerned.

[Redstone]

16. My older son sailed through it. Not even any swelling. Hope you get

that lucky as well.

Redstone

[Runcible Spoon]

19. thanks Redstone!

:hug:

[HEyHEY]

17. OOO, you're so dead

You know that song by Sarah McLaughin? "Hold on to yourself" She wrote that about getting her wisdom teeth pulled.

[Runcible Spoon]

20. you're shitting me.

my sarcasm gauge isn't that off. Maybe tomorrow I'll start a vicodin-fueled crazy thread just for you!

[BlueIris]

26. He IS shitting you.

I thought the pain was tolerable actually, and only took one or two Percocet to deal with it. Less painful than mestrual cramps, less painful than a migraine. But not so tolerable that you'd want to try to "bear it" if you didn't have to.

And don't get Vicodin unless you KNOW you're not allergic to it. If you are, you will be unhappy after you take it. If you really want your Vicodin though--"do. not. substitute." is key. Generic Vicodin is even more nauseating for those with the allergy than for those without it (which has to do with all the crap the manufacturers throw in there to "buff" up the tablets even though they lack more than half the active ingredients of the brandname).

[PittPoliSci]

28. it certainly won't make your weekend much fun.

[Orsino]

30. All depends on what happy drugs they give you, I'd guess.

I got Novocain and sodium pentothal(!), so I fell asleep during the surgery.

And I don't think I told them where the microfilm was.

I had a brief bout of nausea afterward, and then several days of annoying achiness, but it wasn't horrible at all. Best wishes!

[BlueIris]

31. You have a PM. nt

[Dukkha]

32. I walked home after all 4 were yanked

the only bad part was I ran out of gauze so I used the only alternative I had. bangle spice tea bags. that was a bit much

[mdmc]

33. didn't hurt me at all

until I got home and did a bong hit. Ripped the stiches right out o me mouth.

[Kajsa]

34. Let us know how it went,

when you feel up to it.

:D

[JackDragna]

35. It mostly depends on the complications.

The procedure itself, although not much fun, is bearable. What'll be the deciding thing is whether you get any of the complications, like dry socket or a hole leading from the roof of your mouth to your sinus. I had one of those and had horrid sinus infections.

[Radical Activist]

36. Real bad. You'll want to die!!!

Ok, actually, I never had mine removed so I don't know.

[Runcible Spoon]

37. screw you hippy!

:evilgrin:

[Runcible Spoon]

38. UPDATE: I am now in recovery!

they put me under yesterday, now I;m just really sore and spacey and spitting blood...mmmm...but it wasn;t too bad. I thanks everyone who chimed in with encouragement and advice!~

[miss_american_pie]

39. Yay!

And be careful with the stitches. Hope you heal quickly.

[Runcible Spoon]

40. thanks Miss Pie!

for some reason they only stitched my lower wounds :shrug: but the drugs are helpoing me deal with the fact ther are gaping holes where teeth used to be!

[Ladyhawk]

41. I had four impacted teeth and four dry sockets.

I tried to go back to college about a week after it was done and couldn't function, so I headed to a local oral surgeon who packed the sockets with anesthetic gauss. If you hurt really badly afterward, don't wait as long as I did. The relief was instantaneous.

[Fleshdancer]

42. fortunately, I don't have wisdom teeth

I remember the dentist laughing when he saw my xray...no wisdom teeth! Pretty cool.